Hungarian acrobats tumble into Irvine waffle world

Paul Hortobagyi balances a waffle while his wife, Marcela, left, juggles the popular European treat. Marcela and Paul Hortobagyi were third-generation circus performers from Eastern Europe who left the limelight and now live in Fountain Valley. Recently, Paul Hortobagyi partnered with his children, Marcela Varadi and Jean Paul Hortobagyi, at rear, to open Ga&#252;fre&#233;, a waffle-sandwich restaurant in Irvine. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The order came from the Hungarian government via telegram sent to a hotel in Indiana. It was addressed to Paul Hortobagyi, whose last name was one of the most famous in Budapest.

It was January 1978.

It is safe to say that in January 1978 you did not want to receive a telegram from a high-ranking minister in the People's Republic of Hungary – even if you were part of the republic's most popular families. Still locked behind the Iron Curtain, still entrenched in the Cold War, the Hungarian government was not often friendly to people who were becoming equally as beloved in the United States.

“You are to return to Hungary,” the telegram said.

The flying Hortobagyis, a family of Hungarian acrobats, were suddenly faced with a decision.

Do we go home?

“That telegram meant if you returned home, you would never leave again,” said Marcela Varadi, great-great-granddaughter of the great Karoly Hortobagyi, the Babe Ruth of Hungarian teeterboard acrobats.

Today, when you walk into the new Gaüfreé (inspired by the French word for “waffle”) restaurant in Irvine, order the peanut butter pie waffle and ask owner Paul Hortobagyi, 63, about what happened in that Indiana hotel room in 1978.

He'll tell you about the Nazis, the grueling lifestyle of a performer, the accolades, the most beautiful girl in the world, the one-ring circus, the waffles and how he never wanted to become an acrobat.

And he'll tell you about the decision that changed his life.

• • •

The family was once named Eisenbach, and the family was Jewish.

When Matejka Eisenbach died, his brother Karoly became the family's patriarch. Another brother had been executed by anti-Semites in Hungary and dumped in the Danube River. Seeing the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe before World War II, Karoly quickly changed his new family's name to protect his brother's children, a move that allowed them to thrive despite the Nazi dominance during the war years.

They became the Hortobagyis.

Karoly had a skill that would forever be linked to that new name. He was a teeterboard acrobat.

Paul Hortobagyi balances a waffle while his wife, Marcela, left, juggles the popular European treat. Marcela and Paul Hortobagyi were third-generation circus performers from Eastern Europe who left the limelight and now live in Fountain Valley. Recently, Paul Hortobagyi partnered with his children, Marcela Varadi and Jean Paul Hortobagyi, at rear, to open Gaüfreé, a waffle-sandwich restaurant in Irvine. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Marcela and Paul Hortobagyi are sweet over a peanut butter pie waffle at Gaüfreé. The couple is happy their restaurant drew their two children to Irvine from Europe. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Paul Hortobagyi holds his daughter, Marcela, then 4 years old, in 1973, in what today is Germany. COURTESY OF THE HORTOBAGYI FAMILY
Marcela Hortobagyi, bottom, performing with her sister, Vlasta Lisner, circa 1969 in Hamburg, West Germany. COURTESY OF THE HORTOBAGYI FAMILY
Marcela Varadi, left, and Jean Paul Hortobagyi recently partnered with their dad, Paul Hortobagyi, to open Gaüfreé, a waffle-sandwich restaurant in Irvine. Marcela Varadi moved to Orange County from Europe to help run the restaurant. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Marcela and Paul Hortobagyi as acrobats. COURTESY OF THE HORTOBAGYI FAMILY
Marcela Hortobagyi during a movie at age 15 in today's Germany. Both she and her husband, Paul, were third-generation circus acrobats. COURTESY OF THE HORTOBAGYI FAMILY
A picture shows Paul Hortobagyi, bottom center, and Marcela Hortobagyi, far right, in action during a circus performance in Europe circa 1974. COURTESY OF THE THE HORTOBAGYI FAMILY
Marcela Hortobagyi juggles in a circus performance in France in 1972. COURTESY OF THE HORTOBAGYI FAMILY
The Brussels street waffle with chocolate sauce and raspberry coulis is one of the treats at Gaüfreé in Irvine. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Peanut butter pie waffle with sea salt caramel is a favorite at Gaüfreé in Irvine. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An ice cream bar features McConnell's ice cream at Gaüfreé in Irvine. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Paul Hortobagyi partnered with his children, Jean Paul Hortobagyi and Marcela Varadi , to open Gaüfreé, a waffle sandwich restaurant in Irvine. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Marcela and Paul Hortobagyi, left, were third-generation circus performers from Eastern Europe who have since left the limelight and made their home in Fountain Valley. Recently, Paul Hortobagyi partnered with his children, Jean Paul Hortobagyi and Marcela Varadi, to open Gaüfreé, a waffle-sandwich restaurant in Irvine. The restaurant draws from popular European casual dining. Paul Hortobagyi is a formally trained chef, and Jean Paul Hortobagyi worked in the restaurant business in Budapest and Italy. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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